//------------------------------// // Shopping // Story: It takes a village // by Sarcastic Brony //------------------------------// “I’ve never been in this aisle before,” Anon remarks as Pinkie and him walk into the baby section of the local supermarket. “Of course you haven’t! Why that’d just be weird,” Pinkie says picking a few things off the shelf and throwing them into Anon’s basket. “Here are diapers. These are nice and soft. There’s also wipes. These smell better. Then we have baby powder. I don’t think there’s much difference between these.” Anon can already tell that Pinkie has done this before as she adds various amounts of each item to the basket. If Anon had to guess, he’d think this was just a weeks worth of baby supplies. Pinkie stops Anon and points to the top shelf that has baby food. “That’s for when she’s older. Though ponies still like to make their own baby food, the stuff here isn’t bad either.” “Do they have milk by any chance?” Anon asks. Pinkie shakes her head. “Nope! It’s well known that a mare's milk is super important for foal development. It has a lot of nutrients that can’t be replicated. So they’ve decided to leave that stage of life alone.” “Um, wow... I wasn’t aware you knew so much about babies.” Anon says surprised. “Every mare knows about babies, silly. Even Rainbow Dash. Why it’s every mares dream to have a foal one day.” “Wow... Even Dash?” Pinkie nods. “Mhmm, even if she doesn’t admit it.” “I keep learning new things about you guys. It’s kinda nice.” Anon admits. “You never stop learning, Anon. Try to keep an open mind!” “Sure thing.” Anon looks over his basket. “Anything else?” Pinkie takes a moment to think. “One last thing.” She disappears for a moment before coming back and placing something in the basket. “A pacifier, rattle, and various cloths for drool.” “All good items,” Anon admits. “I think I have enough for this. Thanks for the help, Pinks.” She smiles at Anon. “No problem. I’m here whenever you need me.” “Yeah, I know. Well, I think I’ve left Faith with AJ long enough. Think I’ll pick her up and head home for a bit.” “Alright. See you tomorrow?” “Yeah. I’ll bring Faith. Promise.” “That’ll be awesome! I can’t wait!” Anon buys everything and walks out of the store with Pinkie beside him. “See you tomorrow.” Pinkie waves at Anon as she walks back to sugarcube corner. “Bye!” Once she’s gone, Anon decides to hurry back to AJ’s to get Faith. He’ll stop by Twilight’s for a moment and then back home to relax. Lots of stuff is going on, but it’ll be nice having some alone time with Faith, being able to get to know her, and also the responsibility of taking care of her. Anon knocks on the door to the Apple family’s home. It doesn’t take long for Apple Bloom to answer it as she gives Anon a broad smile. “You back to pick up Faith?” Anon nods. “Yup, I hope she wasn’t a handful.” Applebloom shakes her head. “Not at all! Come on in; Applejack is in the kitchen.” Anon thanks Applebloom before walking into the kitchen and stops slightly as he spots AJ feeding Faith. Applejack looks up at the door and smiles at Anon. “You all done with work?” Anon nods. “Well, faster than I thought. Faith was acting hungry, so I decided to feed her again. Hope you don’t mind.” “Not at all. Was she any trouble?” “Nope. Spent most of the time sleeping. It’s odd; she’s the calmest foal I’ve ever watched.” “Yeah. Is that normal?” “Not really, but I’m sure there have been many foals out there that don’t make a fuss over nothing.” Anon just hopes she isn’t sick. Then again, wouldn’t she cry more if she were ill? He’ll take AJ’s word for it. He’s worrying over nothing and being given so much responsibility has him overthinking things. AJ finishes feeding Faith while Anon is lost in thought and sets her back into the basket. “Alright, time to go home,” AJ whispers to Faith as she tucks her in. “I’ll see you a little later.” She then looks back up to Anon who’s still thinking. “Anon?” “Huh?” He shakes his thoughts away as he looks at AJ. “Sorry, just lost in thought.” “I could tell. She’s all good to go. See you around dinner?” “Yeah, that sounds fine.” Anon picks up his bag and Faith as he gets ready to leave. “Thanks again, AJ. See you later.” “Take care, now!” AJ calls out as Anon leaves. Now AJ is left alone in the kitchen as her heart starts to calm down. She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. “You know,” AJ jumps as she turns around to see Granny Smith standing there. “The girl could use a mother. Why not try and get in before another mare?” AJ feels her face cover in a blush. “Anon don’t see me like that, Granny. Plus, he’s got a foal to care for. There’s no time for romance and all that stuff.” “I know you’ve been interested in him for a while now. This may just be the opportunity for you to get to know each other.” “You knew?” AJ asks hiding her face in her hat. “Of course I did! It was obvious, but you kept putting the farm before yourself.” Granny walks in front of AJ and moves her hat away. “We’ll be fine here, Applejack. Don’t hold yourself back on our account.” Applejack can feel a few tears on her face as she wipes them away. “Faith is pretty cute, right?” AJ asks. Granny smiles and nods. “She could use a good mother.” AJ hides her face again. “Come on, Granny.” That just causes Granny Smith to chuckle as she leaves. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Now AJ is left alone in the kitchen. Her heart is racing again as the words of Granny repeat in her head. Is it alright if she tries to get close to Anon? Well, she’ll get to know him and see what happens. There’s no harm in that, right? “Oh, hey Anon!” Twilight says as she answers her door. “I’m surprised to see you so soon. What’s up?” “Can we talk in private?” Twilight nods. “Sure, follow me.” Once again Twilight brings him to her throne room and even casts a privacy bubble. “What do you want to talk about?” She asks. “So, I just wanted to ask. Can the lifestyle of a mare affect their milk?” Anon decides to get this over with. Twilight raises a brow. “I’m not too sure. Any reason as to why you ask?” Anon lets out a sigh. “No offense, Twilight but I don't think your milk is fit for Faith. When I brought her to Applejack’s, she was hungry again. So I wanted to make sure that if a mare has never done this before, then maybe their milk isn’t as potent.” Twilight’s ears pin back some. “Oh... I’m sorry if Faith was in any discomfort because of me.” “No, it’s not that bad... I just, you know, want to make sure she’s taken care of.” Twilight nods. “Yes, I understand. I could look into the subject if you want me to.” “Please... This is a learning experience for all of us, and I want to be certain that Faith is, above all, getting what she needs.” Twilight looks up at Anon with a smile. “It’s nice seeing you act serious about something.” “What does that mean?” Twilight chuckles. “You have to admit, a few days ago, you weren’t what I would consider a responsible person.” That makes Anon chuckle a bit too. “Well, I can’t deny that. Having a kid changes things quickly.” “I guess it does, but I like to think you always had this potential inside of you. You just needed a reason to be serious.” “Thanks, Twi. Again, you girls have been helping me far more than I could ever imagine and I appreciate that.” “Well, there’s still a lot more to do before Faith grows up to be a proper mare.” “Yeah,” Anon remembers that it’s starting to get late. “Sorry, but I should get back before it gets cold.” “I agree. I’ll be sure to look into the subject. Until then, stick with AJ for feeding Faith.” “I’m good on that front. We talked earlier today. Anyways, see you, Twi.” “Bye.” Twilight waves as Anon leaves her home. Anon enters the streets of Ponyville, but just before he sets off toward his home, he hears an odd noise. He looks down to see Faith shaking her rattle, a look of joy on her face. She has many years to grow up, but Anon thinks he can handle it.